A/N: This chapter took me a long time to put together, and I'll openly admit that I'm not entirely satisfied with it. It feels a bit tonally dissonant, at least to me. But it had to happen now, or else none of the important bits that are getting laid down will be resolved quite as well in a few chapters.

Also, to those of you complaining/worrying about my characterization of Mina as bitter and hostile to Izuku and of Izuku as a bit hapless, I assure you that there's a point to what I'm doing here, and that the way I'm writing these characters is in line with the end goals I have for them.

Despite their agreement, Izuku, Mina, and Mezou ended up remaining in the small bolt-hole for what felt like hours, making their plans. None of them were dumb enough to go charging into a compound filled with enemies unprepared, after all. Mezou told them everything he knew about the Neo-Stainist group at the edge of the cavern, and Izuku got him up to speed on Toga in return.

The more they talked, the more Izuku found himself respecting the hulking, laconic vigilante. Behind the terrifying visage, Mezou had detailed knowledge of the Depths, and a razor-sharp mind. He was clearly well-suited to the demands of detective and reconnaissance work, not to mention direct combat. In another world, Izuku knew that Mezou would have easily been a top hero with skills like those.

For the most part, Mina stayed out of the long, extensive planning, preferring to lean her chair against the wall and watch Izuku and Mezou discuss through guarded eyes. As soon as the tension in the room had grudgingly faded, whatever emotion had managed to seep through her mask had been stifled once more; although she hadn't replaced her physical mask, Izuku could tell just from looking at her that her emotional one was back in place. He wondered if Mina even knew she'd done it, or if that mask was a reflex, an instinct from long years of isolation.

Whatever the answer, it didn't really matter at that moment. Izuku was surprised by how willing Mezou was to work with him, when just an hour ago, he'd nearly been at Izuku's throat. He supposed Mezou was just the sort of person who, once he decided to do something, threw his whole self into it, sparing no time worrying or regretting his decision. Izuku envied that certainty, just like he envied Ejiro, who did the same thing.

Still, Izuku may have had misgivings about coming to the Depths alone, but he was still as sure as he had been while speaking to Ejiro that there was no other way. He would rather risk himself than put dozens of heroes in danger, not to mention hundreds of residents of the Depths. And besides, it was far too late for second thoughts, now.

Eventually, Mezou stood from the table, the grinding noise produced by his chair scraping against the floor jolting Izuku and Mina from their thoughts.

"Alright then," Mezou said. "We should get going. There's no reason to sit around now."

Izuku started to get up, too, but before he could rise to his feet, Mina frowned. "It's awfully late," she told him. "Are you sure you want to start a fight this big right now?"

Dryly, Mezou replied, "Yes, I'm sure. I've spent as much time around heroes today as I can tolerate. Letting him stay in the Depths overnight is a bad idea."

While Mina chewed on that, Izuku had a thought. In the Underground, the enormous overhead lighting arrays that provided most of the illumination were programmed to follow a set pattern of brightness each day, mimicking sunrise, day, sunset, and even night. Apparently, it was good for the mental health and internal clocks of the residents. He hadn't seen anything to suggest the Depths had a similar system, though.

"Overnight?" Izuku repeated questioningly. "I haven't noticed any change in the lighting. How can you guys tell the difference?"

Mezou and Mina shot him dry, amused looks. It wasn't hard for Izuku to guess he'd just earned another "stupid abovegrounder" insult.

Sure enough, moments later, Mina informed him, "We can't all have fancy computer-controlled lights, Izuku. Night is just when everybody sleeps, down here."

That made sense to Izuku. Mutant or not, everybody still needed eight to ten hours of sleep a day, and a natural rhythm to life, besides. Of course people would organize their lives around a time when everyone was sleeping; some parts of human evolution ran too deep for quirks to alter or affect.

Still, another thought struck him. "Wouldn't that be a good time to attack, then?" he asked. "Everyone will be sleeping, so it'll be easier to get in and out without starting a massive battle."

Mezou nodded. "Exactly," he agreed. "There will be less collateral damage that way, too. That's why I want to attack now."

Mina pursed her lips. Turning to Mezou, she replied, "Yeah, and attacking without being able to see well enough to scout is a great idea, definitely."

"We won't need to scout, if we can sneak in while the sentries are half-asleep and lazy," Mezou countered.

"And if we screw up?" Mina demanded. "There's hundreds of Neo-Stainists in that compound, you said so yourself. At least if we strike in broad daylight, we'll be able to see them coming."

Mezou scowled. "Their numbers are why attacking in the day is a bad idea," he pointed out.

Izuku watched the back-and-forth, trying to come up with a solution himself. He found himself agreeing with Mina; the downsides of a night attack outweighed the benefits. Besides…

"Their numbers won't be a problem," he said softly, arms crossed over his chest. "I'm sure I can handle them."

Mina and Mezou turned to look at him instantly. Odd, how their seeming dislike for him could instantly end any argument they got into.

Mina looked skeptical as she replied, "You sure? I gotta admit, the last time you tried to fight a mutant-and most of them will be mutants-you almost died. I had to save your ass."

Izuku tensed a little, remembering the burning sensation of Scorpio's venom, and how badly he'd been wounded in that fight. Then, he replied, "He got a lucky shot. Besides, I was in a cramped bar, so I couldn't use my full strength."

Mina continued to frown, but apparently decided to not argue too hard against someone taking her side. Before she could turn back to Mezou to continue the argument, though, there was a knock on the door. It was quick and firm, though not particularly aggressive. Still, the abrupt shattering of their isolation shocked all three of them. Mina jumped away from the door, landing with knees bent, ready to leap into action. Izuku was just as quick, erupting from his chair as lightning coursed down his arms.

Mezou, though, seemed less surprised when the knocks were accompanied by a voice calling, "Mezou, are you in there?"

Mina's eyes flew open as she seemingly recognized the voice. Izuku's brow creased as he tried to make sense of it-it was soft and definitely feminine, though it had a strangely guttural, throaty quality to it he couldn't recognize. Mezou, though, just sighed. Then, he answered, "Yes, babe, I am."

Mina and Izuku exchanged a glance. Izuku was surprised by the level of fear that he could recognize in her eyes. Clearly, this was Mezou's wife, and Mina had apparently known her…so why did she look worried?

Mezou's demeanor seemed to have shifted from the looming, dangerous vigilante Izuku had gotten somewhat used to into something quite different. He seemed softer, somehow, gentler. As he walked to open the door, Izuku wondered if that sort of change was what love did to you.

When the door opened, Izuku and Mina's view was blocked by Mezou's hulking body. They couldn't see who was on the other side, even as Mezou asked, "Why are you here?"

"Because I know you, ribbit," the answer came. "If you aren't back home by now, you're either dying or hiding away in one of your bolt-holes."

Izuku raised an eyebrow. "Ribbit?" he thought to himself. It was a very odd thing to say, especially since it felt almost involuntary, more like a noise in the back of the person's throat rather than a word.

Leaning against the doorframe, Mezou grumbled, "I'm fine, but now isn't a great time, babe. I'm kinda in the middle of something."

"Something dangerous, I assume," the woman replied dryly.

Mezou winced. "Slightly," he muttered. "A little bit."

The woman snorted. "Well, let me in, then," she told him. "I have to be the voice of reason, as always."

Izuku sat back down, somewhat confident that Mezou's wife wouldn't try to attack him on sight. Meanwhile, Mezou sighed heavily and obeyed his wife, pulling away from the door of the small hideout and letting the woman in.

Izuku's eyebrows widened as he took in the figure that entered the room. Next to Mezou's hulking form, she looked almost cartoonishly small, but she couldn't have been much shorter than Mina was. Even so, Izuku got a sense of wrongness as he tried to make sense of her. She looked almost like a normal human, far more than Mina or Mezou did, anyway, but her proportions were all off, and there was something about her face that clearly showed that she was a mutant. Izuku recalled Mina's words from the market, when she'd told him that there were almost degrees of mutation, from extreme to minor. This woman clearly didn't have a minor mutation, but it was definitely less extreme than Mina or Mezou's, by that logic.

It had to be the limbs, Izuku decided. The woman held her hands out and under her slightly-hunched body in a position that would have been awkward to a regular person-almost like they were meant to be on the ground rather than in the air. And those hands were massive, with long, sturdy fingers. Her legs seemed densely powerful, and bent as well, making her look smaller than she really was. Her face was plenty odd, too; it was just…too broad. Her eyes were a little too big, positioned a little weirdly. Her mouth seemed a bit larger than it should have been. Dark green hair flowed down her back, tied with a bow-the only ornamentation the woman wore; other than it, she wore the same simple, sturdy sort of clothing Mina and Mezou seemed to prefer. Altogether, the effect was strange; she looked human, but not entirely human. It was like seeing a picture of a person who had been ever-so-slightly distorted by a rather subtle carnival mirror.

Even though Izuku couldn't quite stop his quirk-analysis habit from going to work on the strange mutant woman, she barely seemed to notice him. Instead, her eyes went wide as they landed on Mina, who flinched away from her gaze.

"M-Mina?" the woman whispered. Her eyes were filling with small, gentle tears, as though just the sight of Mina was dragging up old, unhealed wounds.

Mina just stood there, unmoving, not daring to speak. Izuku thought she might have been trembling, just a little bit.

Mezou closed the door, and turned with a sigh. "She showed up a few hours ago," he murmured softly, clearly being impacted by the sudden shift in the mood; if he was still angry or frustrated, he hid it well. "I was planning to come get you as soon as I had the chance."

Still, the woman didn't speak. Izuku wondered if she was just too stunned to. If so…it only made him wonder more what, exactly, Mina had done to these people she had once, by her own admission, considered family. What had happened to them?

At last, Mina seemed to gather her strength enough to speak. Softly, her voice choked by what sounded like grief and regret and an ocean of pain, she whispered, "H-hey, Tsu."

Tsu-for that had to be the woman's name-responded instantly. She surged across the room, moving so fast Izuku could barely track her. Mina gasped as the shorter woman barreled into her, wrapping powerful arms around her torso as if to trap her there. Tsu dragged Mina into the strongest, most all-consuming hug Izuku had ever seen, and murmured something quiet that he didn't catch.

Whatever it was, it was like breaking a dam. Mina choked out something that might have been a sob, and hugged Tsu back. Izuku couldn't help but feel distinctly uncomfortable there-it felt like he was trespassing on something precious, something he had no right to see.

The hug finally ended, and both women seemed to compose themselves. At last, Tsu's eyes swept the rest of the room, and landed squarely on Izuku.

"Mezou, who is this?" she asked. Izuku finally understood the reason her voice sounded so odd-it was almost a croak, suggesting that whatever her quirk was, it extended to her voicebox and throat, too.

Mezou sighed heavily, and anger crept into his gaze as he stared at Izuku. "This is Atlas," he said. "And I was hoping he wouldn't meet you."

Izuku braced himself for the familiar hate that had filled both Mina's and Mezou's eyes once they'd known who he was. And yet…it didn't come. Tsu's green eyes remained surprisingly tender as she met his gaze; cautious and guarded, yes, but not angry the way the other mutants' had been.

"Is this you trying to protect me again?" Tsu asked, turning to face her husband.

Mezou exhaled loudly, looking surprisingly chastened. "Yeah, probably," he admitted. "Sorry about that."

Tsu chuckled, "I swear, you always seem to think you have to bear every burden by yourself. I can take care of myself too, you know."

Mezou nodded, clearly retreading exchanges they had had many times before. Meanwhile, Tsu turned back to Izuku, and smiled with surprising kindness.

"I apologize for my husband," she said. "Knowing him, he was probably rude and standoffish with you. It's nice to meet you, Atlas."

Despite being very surprised at the sudden shift in the tone of his welcome, Izuku managed to smile back. "Don't worry about it," he replied. "And please, call me Izuku. It's nice to meet you, too, Ms…"

Tsu chuckled, though it was closer to an odd ribbiting noise. "Please, just call me Tsu," she told him. "Everyone does."

"Because you make us," Mina muttered from where she'd slumped into a chair, clearly reeling from Tsu's arrival.

Tsu nodded. "Damn right I do," she agreed.

Behind Tsu, Mezou coughed. "Sorry to interrupt," he grumbled, "But we were busy, babe. Atlas is only down here because he needs help catching a murderer. We were about to leave."

Tsu turned and met his eye. "Like hell you are," she told him firmly. "You and I both know how stupid it is to start fights down here this late. If you go in now, you'll all be too sleep-deprived to function. Come home and get a good night's sleep, first."

Swiftly, Tsu whirled to get Mina and Izuku's attention. She added, "That applies to you two, as well."

Mina and Izuku exchanged an uncertain glance as Mezou repeated, "You want us to let the Number One Hero stay the night."

"Did I stutter, ribbit?" Tsu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mezou just stared at her. Tsu met his gaze evenly, and it took a whole three seconds before Mezou dropped his gaze and groaned loudly.

"This is what I get for being nice," he grumbled. "Heroes staying in my fucking house."

Tsu just snorted. "You knew what you were getting into when you married me," she told him. Mezou rolled his eyes, but didn't argue.

Out of nowhere, Mina giggled loudly. When everyone turned to look at her, she laughed, "You have him just as tamed as you did six years ago, don't you, Tsu?"

A broad smile broke out across Tsu's face. Dryly, she replied, "You bet I do."

Izuku stared at Mezou's resigned expression, and couldn't help but chuckle himself.

Apparently, even the most terrifying mutant vigilante was no match for Tsuyu Asui.

It wasn't long before Mina and Izuku found themselves swept along by the human force of nature that was Tsu when she was on a mission. Within the hour, they had been dragged to the small but surprisingly well-made and comfortable home she and Mezou had made on a ledge jutting out of one cavern wall, carved from the stone itself, fed dinner, and had cots made up for them in the living room. Mezou even got over his grumbling about having a hero in his house enough to help.

It was the oddest turnaround Izuku had ever experienced. He'd been mentally preparing himself for a long, rough day or two-he'd gone longer and done harder things while on even less sleep, after all. It would have sucked, but he would have managed it. Now, all of a sudden, he found himself in a cozy, warm house that, while rough and definitely far from well-off, was unmistakably a home. Nothing Izuku had seen in the Depths had really prepared him for something like this-a place that felt safe and welcoming, that he could let his guard down in. He especially hadn't expected it from the home of an incredibly dangerous vigilante and his wife, who, it seemed, both knew about and encouraged her husband's vigilantism-and was apparently no slouch in combat herself, from the stories she readily told over the dinner table.

Honestly, Izuku didn't really know what to make of Mezou and Tsu. They were both the same age as him, the same age as Mina….and they were married. That definitely seemed odd, but Izuku wasn't going to judge people he barely knew. No, the part that was odd to him was something else. Izuku was no stranger to people his age in relationships, even serious ones; some of his classmates had started dating in UA, and some of those relationships had even lasted. But even compared to those, Mezou and Tsu's relationship felt mature in a way Izuku couldn't quite explain. Maybe it was how they could fondly argue or disagree on things, then work together just fine anyway. Maybe it was how fiercely devoted they were to each other. Or maybe it was something Izuku just couldn't understand. Whatever it was, he felt lonelier for having seen it and found nothing in his life even remotely close to it.

Mina seemed to be reeling just as much as Izuku was, to boot. Indeed, Izuku imagined it was probably worse for her, since she'd known Tsu and Mezou before. She wasn't keen on giving him more detail than that, and he didn't push on it, but he could see how she struggled to make sense of the way her interactions with them felt like jumbles of conflicting instincts. There were times when Mina felt just as much a part of a greater unit as Tsu and Mezou did…and times where the three of them stumbled over stories or lapsed into awkward silences as they recalled that, no, Mina hadn't been there for that fight, hadn't met that person, hadn't celebrated or grieved alongside Mezou and Tsu for years. Mina didn't talk about what she'd been doing since she'd left, or even why she'd left, and neither Mezou or Tsu asked. Izuku thought that they might have been afraid of the answers.

More than that, it felt like there was something big that all three of the mutants were tiptoeing around, unable to bring up for…some reason. It was the point where all the broken ties that had once connected them seemed to meet, some gaping hole in the fabric of their lives that they just…didn't talk about. It came up in half-words, in awkward silences when mentioning the timeframe for some past event, in stilted gaps that ended stories at the points when someone did something, said something. Maybe it was because Izuku was there, but he got the feeling that there was a different reason for it.

In a backwards way, maybe that was why Izuku found himself so comfortable here, in a place so hostile to him and his kind. The people he'd found here were kind and supportive with each other, ferociously loyal, and deadly to those who threatened their loved ones, but beneath that…beneath that, these people were broken, in a way he couldn't quite put into words. But even so, he knew it.

He was broken too, after all.

Late that night, after Tsu and Mezou had finally gone to bed, Mina leaned against the low wall that served as a railing for a small balcony on the side of the house-really just a little outcrop of stone off the side of the building-and sighed as she stared out over the Depths. She heard the sound of footsteps, and barely even had to turn to recognize Izuku, who soon stood tall and motionless to her left, though she couldn't see where his eyes landed.

The air was…well, not cool exactly, but not quite as still as it usually was down here; there would have been a brisk night breeze blowing, had they been aboveground. But they weren't, and all there was this far down was the ghost of one, false wind on a false face.

Izuku drank in the dark view in front of them, sprinkling with faint lights from distant settlements. Mina wondered why she felt so much… calmer here in this place, with a man she'd hated from the moment she saw him.

In a soft voice, Izuku said, "I think Tsu scares me more than Mezou does."

Despite herself, Mina snorted. "That's because she is scarier," she agreed. "Especially in a fight."

Raising an eyebrow, Izuku asked, "Really? She seems pretty…level-headed, especially compared to Mezou."

"You've never hurt someone she cares about," Mina replied, her voice quiet. "If you did, not even God could save you."

Izuku chuckled quietly. He leaned forwards slightly, hands braced on the stone railing. "I didn't expect to find someone that ferociously kind down here," he mused.

Mina turned her head a little. "Did you expect us all to be angry and bitter?" she asked, her voice shading towards teasing. "Maybe sitting in caves muttering about how we're going to overthrow society?"

Izuku met her eyes, though his expression was still distant. "I don't know what I expected," he admitted. "Though I suppose it doesn't matter. Whatever expectations I had, you would have found a way to shatter."

Mina smirked. "I have a way of doing that," she agreed. "And, for the record, Tsu's always been like that. From the day I first met her, I've known that she'd do anything for the people she loves. I used to be one of those people."

Izuku frowned. Gently, he asked, "Why couldn't you still be one? She seems to still care about you."

Mina didn't quite meet his eyes, but Izuku caught a glimpse of the way her eyes seemed to flash in the darkness. "I don't think there's any point," she answered quietly. "There's…too much in the way, now. Too many things I can't undo or take back. Too much I've missed."

Izuku found himself disagreeing; Tsu certainly hadn't seemed to hesitate in welcoming Mina back. There was no way to fake that sort of genuine shock and joy…and even if there had been, why would Tsu do so?

Still, Izuku knew that there wasn't anything to gain by arguing the point. Instead, he said, "I'm sorry for pushing earlier, while we were talking with Mezou. I shouldn't have asked about your past."

Mina agreed with that, for sure, but she found herself waving him off. "Don't worry about it," she replied.

Izuku visibly relaxed a little. Smiling, he said, "Thanks."

Mina nodded, and actually smiled back. For a moment, Izuku's heart swelled. The way her eyes shone when she truly, genuinely smiled, without sarcasm or bitterness or irony or anger, was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. She brushed a stray lock of short, curly hair away from her temple, and Izuku wondered what was wrong with his heart.

Mina turned away again, and said nothing as Izuku joined her at the railing. They stayed there in silence for what felt like hours, though was probably only a few minutes.

Then, Mina roused herself a little, turning to look at Izuku once more.

"Actually, I've got a question for you, if you don't mind," she said.

Izuku nodded. "Fire away," he replied.

Mina took a deep breath, hesitating for the barest fraction of a second. At last, she quietly asked, "If…if you'd never become a hero, what do you think you would have done with your life?"

Izuku's expression shifted, almost imperceptibly. For a second, Mina wasn't sure he would even answer. But then, he let out a deep breath, and replied, "I…honestly don't know if I have an answer to that. Being a hero is all I ever wanted out of life."

Mina couldn't help the bitter chuckle that escaped her lips. She said, "Figures. A pretty boy with a strong quirk like you might as well have been born with the world in your hands. You probably got told you were gonna be a hero as soon as you could walk."

Something flashed in Izuku's eyes, something Mina couldn't recognize. He opened his mouth as if to respond, then caught himself. A second later, he spoke, voice controlled, contained, but no less honest for it.

"I wish," he said with that same bitter chuckle Mina had used, a sound so familiar it shocked her to hear Atlas use it. "I wish my life had been like that."

Instantly, Mina's curiosity-and confusion-were piqued. She pressed, "Come on, you and I both know it's true. A quirk like yours? Being a hero was your destiny."

Again, that bitter chuckle escaped Izuku's lips. He shook his head. Then, in a voice so soft she could barely hear him, he told her, "I was…everyone thought I was quirkless until I was fifteen."

That froze Mina in her tracks. She stared at Izuku, barely able to comprehend it. Someone as powerful as Atlas had…had been thought to be quirkless?

"How is that possible?" she asked, because she knew Izuku's face well enough to know he wouldn't lie about this-or maybe he simply couldn't.

Izuku looked nonchalant, but his eyes held a bit of panic as he hastily explained, "The…the doctors think it was because my quirk was too powerful. My body was too weak, so it went dormant until I was big enough to handle it."

Mina frowned. "I've never heard of a quirk doing that before," she said.

Izuku shrugged. "Neither had I," he admitted, secretly giving thanks to Toshinori's well-worn, time-honored excuse. "But yeah, up until fifteen, I was just…the skinny, pathetic quirkless kid. I got bullied a lot, got told I was never going to amount to anything, that sort of stuff. If I hadn't…if my quirk hadn't come in, I'd probably have ended up in a place a lot like this."

Izuku gestured out at the Depths with one hand, vaguely encompassing everything hidden behind the ever-present darkness. Mina laughed, lighter and gentler than she expected. "If only those bullies could see you now, am I right?" she joked.

Izuku grinned playfully. "If only they could see me now," he agreed.

The silence returned, though it was kinder this time, happier. Mina could have rolled herself up in the easy camaraderie on this tiny balcony, and gone to sleep. Maybe it was because she'd found a place that had made her guard slip a little, but she found herself actually willing to entertain the idea that Atlas wasn't the worst.

Then, Izuku shifted again, pale face flickering in and out of shadow.

"Is it okay if I turn that question around, in a way?" he asked. "If you could have had the chance, would you have been a hero?"

The question was so bizarre to Mina, it took her a long time just to decide whether he was being serious or not. Eventually, though, she managed to gesture at her face and snort, "Please. Even if heroes weren't such massive pieces of shit to my kind, they'd still take one look at me and laugh me out. Why would I dream of being something I could never be?"

Oddly, Izuku didn't seem put out by Mina's answer. Instead, he retorted, "Okay, then. In a better world, then, where mutants were treated better, where you could trust a hero to treat you the same as everyone else. Would you dream of being one?"

Mina hesitated. Staring out at the Depths as she spoke, she replied, "I…don't think a world like that exists."

Izuku stared out beside her-always beside her. How did his presence feel so natural there, so stabilizing? How did Mina feel like she could close her eyes, and feel the warmth of his gentle smile all the same?

"I think it does," he said softly. "I think there's a better world than this one out there."

Mina shook her head at his naïveté. "What does it matter if there's some perfect world out there?" she asked bitterly. "We live in this world, Izuku. And it's shitty, and rotten, and I'll never be a hero like you."

Mina tried not to sound wistful. Because the truth was, she had dreamed, once. She'd dreamed of being a hero, of being living proof of the lies that were said about mutants-proof that they were just as human, just as good, as everyone else. They'd been foolish pipe dreams-the creations of a half-starved child, desperate to escape a hopeless world. But they'd been dreams all the same.

Izuku turned towards her, and Mina tried not to flinch from the light in his eyes-or bask in it, either.

"Then we just have to make this one better instead," he told her.

Mina shook her head. "Yeah, right," she scoffed. "I gave up thinking things would change a long time ago, Izuku. There's too much shit in the way. Too much hate, too much pain."

Mina felt a hand press on her shoulder, steady and firm. It was almost possible to forget just how strong Izuku was when he touched her like that, how he wouldn't even need his quirk to crush her bones in his grip. "I wouldn't be a hero if I didn't believe that it was possible to change the world," he said, and the fervor in his words was so strong that Mina almost believed him.

Mina gripped the railing, unsure if she could stop herself from doing…something. Her body was tense, but she didn't know why she wanted to move so badly.

"I…I'm not hero material, Izuku," she repeated, almost to herself. "I never have been, and I never will be. Not in any world."

Izuku just smiled at her. "You saved my life, Mina," he reminded her. "That seems pretty heroic to me."

Mina found herself speechless for long enough to make it awkward. At last, she forced herself to come back to her senses.

"Well, don't get too comfortable being alive," she muttered. "We are going to be attacking a heavily fortified compound full of zealots who want to murder you tomorrow, after all."

Once again, Izuku chuckled. Even so, his face was deadly serious when he replied, "Nobody's going to die tomorrow, Mina. I'll make sure of it."

Mina eyed him suspiciously. "Does he really believe he has the power to say things like that and make them true?" she wondered. For a second, she considered laughing in his face. But then, she took another look at his outline, all solid muscle and unyielding strength, cast in the fading embers of the Depths. She recalled the way lightning seemed to dance over his body, never hurting him, only crushing those who fought against him. And then she almost believed him.

Softly, she told him, "I'll hold you to that, then."

The light that rose in Izuku's eyes then was still dancing in Mina's mind long after she finally went to sleep.